1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method for offering a dummy target which simulates the target signature of a subject such as a land craft, aircraft or water craft for an imaging, radiation-sensitive homing head with spectral discrimination capability, such as an infrared homing head.
2. Description of the Prior Art
German OS 33 11 530 discloses a method wherein the dummy target, which is intended to achieve a simulation of a ship-like target signature, is deployed outside a water craft which is to be simulated. The dummy target is placed in the desired position by a submarine. A disadvantage of this known technique is that the dummy target must be completely constructed using a single active mass, and a three-dimensional signature can thus only be achieved to an extremely coarse degree, and without chronological stabilization. Moreover, a spatially disbursed spectral distribution of the active mass is not possible using this known technique.
Moreover, it is known to employ simple, hot pyrotechnic noise radiators as dummy targets for aircraft, armored vehicles and ships as countermeasures against infrared homing heads, with the infrared dummy targets approximating the subject to be protected to a certain extent, at least in terms of area size and spectral radiation components. As disclosed in German OS 34 21 734, the dummy targets produced in this manner may be gradually moved away from the subject to be protected by utilizing a plurality of active masses, which are deployed in chronological succession.
The following infrared deception techniques are currently widely employed: burning fuel, pyrotechnical active masses having metallic components (for example, magnesium/polytetrafluorethylene), pyrotechnical active compounds on carrier materials (flares), and "warm clouds" produced by exothermal chemical reactions. All of these techniques have the common disadvantage that they produce points, or at most structureless clouds, in the infrared range, which have nothing in common with the actual contour and infrared signature of a military object. This results in these deception principles being completely ineffective against "smart" imaging homing heads, particularly infrared homing heads of the so-called third generation.